MARVIN Morgan broke Crawley hearts as his second half goal sealed a 2-1 win for Shrewsbury Town tonight.
In what was billed as a huge clash between two League 2 promotion hopefuls, the hosts came from a goal down to enhance their top three credentials, as goals from Mark Wright and substitute Morgan cancelled out John Akinde’s first Crawley Town strike.
There was a first start since September for Charlie Wassmer, who came in at right back with Claude Davis on international duty, and a first since January 2 for John Akinde after his 45 minute cameo against Morecambe last Wednesday.
Shrewsbury’s only change was forced upon them with Jermaine Grandison held up in traffic, the same tailbacks which prevented many Reds fans making it in time for kick off.
Crawley made the better start and put together some neat passages of play, one of which saw Sanchez Watt’s shot deflected over in the seventh minute. In fact both sides played some attractive one-touch stuff. But it was a more direct approach which led to the first opportunity as a Shrewsbury free kick was flicked on for James Collins, who hooked over the bar. Moments later, Crawley’s Billy Clarke hit a long range effort at Chris Neal and it was coming to the boil nicely.
John Akinde’s powerful presence seemed to put Crawley on the front foot, and Josh Simpson called Neal into action again on 19 minutes, the keeper fumbled but gathered before Clarke could pounce. It was almost a carbon copy when Watt’s low drive proved too hot to handle, and the Reds were hitting a nice rhythm.
There was a muffled cheer from the Crawley support as Kyle McFadzean flicked Clarke’s 23rd minute corner into the side netting, and the diminutive Clarke then headed at Neal as rumbles of dissatisfaction rumbled around the home fans.
The Crawley chances continued to flow, and Hope Akpan’s athletic burst on to an Akinde nod-down resulted in a shot just over the bar.
Shrewsbury’s fans found their voice on the half hour though, when Rene Gilmartin spilled an Alan Gornell cross for the home side’s first corner, it came to nothing but now the Salop were gaining some momentum.
Just as it looked like Shrewsbury had a foothold, Crawley scored a terrific goal, only the eighth the hosts had conceded in the league at Greenhous Meadow this season. Clarke’s neat pass set Akinde free, and when the former Bristol City striker shrugged off his man, he drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.
Shrewsbury responded well, and Collins headed wide after Gilmartin flapped at a Mark Wright corner. And their leveller came two minutes before the break, Mark Wright nipped in front of Charlie Wassmer, who looked wary of committing a foul and smashed his shot low and hard past Gilmartin. It was harsh on Crawley just before the break, but they recovered well in the early stages of the second half, as Sanchez Watt fired wide before Clarke jinked inside and shot at Neal.
Akinde almost had a second on 58 minutes, slipped through by Josh Simpson, his shot was shovelled round the post by Neal, and the Salop stopper came to the rescue again 60 seconds later, saving a point blank range from Watt. Crawley dominance continued as McFadzean’s shot bobbled wide and Dannie Bulman’s shot was fumbled by Neal, but that elusive second goal just would not come.
And the Reds were made to pay when substitute Marvin Morgan outpaced Pablo Mills as he raced on to a Wright pass and slid his finish past Gilmartin to put Shrewsbury ahead with 15 minutes to play.
Scott Neilson led the Crawley reply with a dipping shot which Neal could only parry, while Evans went for broke five minutes from time, replacing right back Wassmer with Karl Hawley but the changes had little effect, aside from a Hope Akpan header wide in the dying seconds as Shrewsbury celebrated a win in front of the Sky TV cameras.
Shrewsbury: Chris Neal, Joe Jacobson, Ian Sharps, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, Mark Wright, James Collins, Matt Richards, Carl Regan, Dave McAllister, Jon Taylor, Terry Gornell.
Subs: Ben Smith, Jermaine Grandison (on for Cansdell-Sherriff 45), Nicky Wroe (on for Collins 82), Marvin Morgan (on for Gornell 45), Lionel Ainsworth.
Crawley: Rene Gilmartin, Dean Howell, Pablo Mills, Kyle McFadzean, Charlie Wassmer, Hope Akpan, Josh Simpson, Dannie Bulman, Sanchez Watt, Billy Clarke, John Akinde.
Subs: Michel Kuipers, Sergio Torres, Karl Hawley (on for Wassmer 85), Shaun Batt (on for Simpson 77), Scott Neilson (on for Watt 65).